'Dangerous' man who committed sex acts on corpses at Grimsby mortuary jailed

Damon Tingay, 30, broke into the facility at Diana Princess of Wales hospital in the early hours of Sunday March 17.

Officers were deployed and Tingay was arrested, initially on suspicion of burglary, having been detained by hospital security.

Officers carried out a search and discovered that a number of bodies had been disturbed.

A review of CCTV footage showed that Tingay had carried out sexual acts on two deceased males.

Tingay, of Grimsby, pleaded guilty to trespass with intent to commit a sexual offence and sexual penetration of a corpse at Grimsby Crown Court in April.

Sentencing, Judge John Thackray described his actions as “depraved, perverted and utterly grotesque”.

Tingay, who the court heard had earlier attempted to gain access to the maternity building, was sentenced to six years in jail, with a further four on licence.

Tingay will be on the sex offender register and subject to a sexual harm prevention order for an indefinite period.

Det Chief Insp Nicole Elliott said Tingay could offer no explanation for his actions when interviewed.

She said his actions had a significant impact on relatives of the deceased and thanked investigating officers who had to review many hours of CCTV.

She said: “This is a particularly disturbing case and I cannot even begin to comprehend the impact which this incident will have had on the family and friends of the deceased within the mortuary, staff members who responded to the incident and the wider local community. I hope that Tingay’s sentence will provide them with a sense of reassurance that he has been brought to justice for his abhorrent crimes”.